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Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Comparison

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Panasonic S5

24 MP | Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic S5
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Samsung NX mini

20 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Samsung NX mini
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Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing S5 and NX mini, two Mirrorless cameras from Panasonic and Samsung. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 is a Pro Mirrorless class camera and Samsung NX mini is a Entry-Level Mirrorless class camera.

Panasonic S5 was introduced to market in August 2020 and Samsung NX mini was launched in March 2014. As you can see, NX mini is 6 years older than S5. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic S5 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2020-08-14
  • 24MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50 - 204800)
  • Leica L Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 7.0fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 714g. 133 x 97 x 82 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Samsung NX mini Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-03-19
  • 20MP - 1' BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 12800 ( expands to 100 - 25600)
  • Samsung NX-M Mount
  • 3.00" Tilting Screen
  • 6.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 196g. 110 x 62 x 23 mm

Panasonic S5 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II vs Panasonic S5
Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II vs Samsung NX mini

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 over Samsung NX mini
Video Record Limit
Unlimited vs Limited Record clips longer than 30 minutes
Live Composite Mode
Yes vs No Excellent help for long-exposure photography
In-built Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
Sensor Resolution
24 MP vs 20 MP 19% more pixels
Max ISO
51.200 vs 12.800 300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
225 vs 21 204 more focus points
LCD Resolution
1.840k dots vs 461k dots 299% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting
7.0fps vs 6.0fps 1 fps faster
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Sensor Pixel Area
35.30µm2 vs 5.82µm2 506% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode
Yes (96 MP) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
4K Photo Mode
Yes vs No Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
6K Photo Mode
Yes vs No Extract 18MP photos from Video footage
Bluetooth
Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Focus Bracketing
Yes vs No Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Focus Stacking
Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Post Focus Mode
Yes vs No Change focus point after taking a shot
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Digital video stabilization
Yes vs No Stabilizes your videos in-camera
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in High Speeds
USB Version
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
Webcam Function
Yes vs No Use your camera as a Webcam
Anti Flicker
Yes vs No Reduced uneven color and exposure under flickering light
Eye Tracking Focus
Yes vs No Autofocus system locks on the eye and tracks the subject
CHECK S5 PRICE


Reasons to choose Samsung NX mini over Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Max Mech. Shutter
1/16000s vs 1/8000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
650 shots vs 440 shots 210 more frames with a single charge
Weight
196 g vs 714 g 518 g lighter
CHECK NX mini PRICE

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 and Samsung NX mini
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Adjustable LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Tilting Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution
24 MP vs 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
Max Continuous Shooting
7.0fps vs 6.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port
Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 and Samsung NX mini
New5
New4
New2
Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic S5 has external dimensions of 133 x 97 x 82 mm (5.24 x 3.82 x 3.23″) and weighs 714 g (1.57 lb) (including batteries). Samsung NX mini has external dimensions of 110 x 62 x 23 mm (4.33 x 2.44 x 0.91″) and weighs 196 g (0.43 lb / 6.91 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini. Samsung NX mini is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 23mm narrower, 35mm shorter and 59mm thinner than Panasonic S5.

Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini.

Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini.
Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Samsung NX mini is significantly lighter (518g ) than the Panasonic S5 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Panasonic S5 has a Full frame sensor and Samsung NX mini has a smaller 1' sensor, Samsung NX mini's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Panasonic S5 lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

S5
NX mini
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

S5
NX mini
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that S5 has a big advantage over NX mini which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.00".

Samsung NX mini features a Tilting only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic S5 sports a Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful especially for taking Selfie shots and video.
Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic S5 has a 24.0MP Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Samsung NX mini has a 20.5MP 1' (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor .

Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic S5's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the S5 and NX mini sensor size comparison.

Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini Cameras


As seen above, Panasonic S5 has a 7.3x Larger sensor area than Samsung NX mini. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Panasonic S5 has an advantage over Samsung NX mini. There are 58 lenses for Panasonic S5's Leica L mount, on the other hand there are only 2 lenses for Samsung NX mini's Samsung NX-M lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Panasonic S5 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization (IS) which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. S5's built-in Image stabilization system is effective to compensate vibration up to 6.5-stops according to CIPA standards.
On the other hand, Samsung NX mini doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 1 lenses for Samsung NX-M mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Panasonic S5 Lenses # of Samsung NX mini Lenses
Standard Zoom 8 (7 Full Frame) n/a
Standard Prime 11 (10 Full Frame) n/a
Wideangle Zoom 5 (5 Full Frame) 1
Wideangle Prime 18 (17 Full Frame) 1
Telephoto Zoom 7 (7 Full Frame) n/a
Telephoto Prime 7 (7 Full Frame) n/a
SuperZoom n/a n/a
Wideangle Fisheye Prime n/a n/a
Macro Prime 2 (2 Full Frame) n/a
Perspective Control Prime n/a n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime n/a n/a
TOTAL 58 (55 Full Frame) 2

What types of Photography are Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Panasonic S5 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Samsung NX mini for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.5MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Panasonic S5 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Samsung NX mini for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Panasonic S5 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Samsung NX mini for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 7.0fps
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
225 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/16000s
21 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 650 shots
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic S5 for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Samsung NX mini for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
714g
Body Thickness 82mm
Read the details
196g
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
Read the details

Panasonic S5 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Samsung NX mini for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.5MP
Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic S5 vs Samsung NX mini: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Panasonic S5 and Samsung NX mini scores compare:

Panasonic S5
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #30 out of 109 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #32 out of 1257 in all Cameras
Samsung NX mini
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #45 out of 134 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #252 out of 1257 in all Cameras

Panasonic S5 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Samsung NX mini in all criteria except one: Portability. Samsung NX mini is significantly smaller than Panasonic S5. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Samsung NX mini. Otherwise, Panasonic S5 is the better camera overall.

Panasonic S5
Panasonic S5
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Samsung NX mini
Samsung NX mini
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Samsung NX mini vs Panasonic S5 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Samsung NX mini
Brand Panasonic Samsung
Announced 2020-08-14 2014-03-19
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Size Full frame 1'
Dimensions 35.6 x 23.8 mm 13.2 x 8.8 mm
Area 847.28mm2 116.16mm2
Megapixels 24 megapixels 20.5 megapixels
Max Resolution 6000 x 4000 5472 x 3648
Max Native Light sensitivity 51,200 ISO 12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 204800 ISO 25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 160 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 50 ISO 100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 225 21
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Leica L Samsung NX-M
Number of Available Lenses 58 2
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Tilting
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,840k dots 461k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder Resolution 2,360k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% n/a
Viewfinder Magnification 0.74x n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/16000s
Max Electronic Shutter 1/8000s n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Max Flash Sync 1/250s 1/200s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 7.0 fps 6.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264, H.265 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 714g 196g
Dimensions 133 x 97 x 82mm 110 x 62 x 23mm
Battery Life 440 shots 650 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 94 not tested
DxO Color Depth 25.1 not tested
DxO Dynamic Range 14.5 not tested
DxO Low Light ISO 2697 not tested
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